An Inside Look…

An Inside Look…

Two years ago Mariane Pearl—widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl—set out on a personal round-the-globe search for hope and heroes. Her new book goes behind the scenes of her Global Diary column for Glamour magazine, as she profiles ordinary women who are changing the world in extraordinary ways.

Chapter OneA Sex Slave’s LiberationSomaly Mam, Cambodia, May 2006

“I am not sure what being happy really means,” says Somaly. “But when I cuddle with the girls, giving them the love I never received, then I do feel happy.”

Photo: Somaly Mam holds the daughter of a sex worker she helped rescue.

Photograph by Jennifer MacFarlane

Chapter TwoMarching for FreedomThe Ladies in White, Cuba, June 2006

“There are no slogans to be heard, no signs to be read. The women say nothing, but their silence contains a significant cry for freedom.”—Mariane Pearl

Photo: The silent march of the Ladies in White

Photograph by Jorge Rey/Getty Images

Chapter TwoMarching for FreedomThe Ladies in White, Cuba, June 2006

“Every Cuban family, including mine, knows what it’s like to have its fate and future controlled by one man.”—Mariane Pearl

Photo: Mariane next to a Castro billboard in Havana; “We’re doing well,” proclaims the sign.

“The president is not interested in wars. She wants to put our children to school,” says one voter.—Mariane Pearl

Photo: Children like Charlotte, 11, and her friends are Liberia’s hope for the future.

Photograph by Sara Terry/Polaris

Chapter FourJustice Gets a VoiceLydia Cacho, Mexico, August 2006

Despite the grave risk involved, Lydia created an international uproar in 2005 after she wrote a book claming that local power brokers were tied to a pedophile ring in the popular resort town of Cancun….She has written about everything from domestic violence to organized crime to political corruption. As a result, she has been jailed once and is constantly threatened with death.

“This is my strategy,” says Lydia. “Each time someone threatens me, I talk about it publicly.”